A bizarre KFC advert in which a man is baptised in a lake of gravy has sparked hundreds of complaints over claims it ‘mocks’ Christianity.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received almost 1,000 complaints about the commercial including those from angry Catholics and Protestants.
The new KFC UK advert – titled ‘All Hail Gravy’ – depicts a man being baptised in a lake of gravy before transforming into a human-sized chicken nugget.
The ad also features religious language including fried chicken being ‘divinely dunked’ into gravy and ends with the words: ‘Believe in Chicken.’
The advertising watchdog said the complaints about the ad include people saying that it mocks Christianity and baptism, glorifies cults and satanism, and even that it promotes cannibalism.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received almost 1,000 complaints about the KFC advert titled ‘All Hail Gravy’
The advert has attracted the ire of Christians who claim it is ‘blasphemy’, ‘mocking God’ and point out that it would not be considered funny to depict other faiths in this way
However the ASA has not launched an investigation into KFC’s ad and has determined that it does not break advertising rules.
As part of its decision, the watchdog said the ad featured ‘a highly stylised and fantastical scenario, and considered that they were likely to have been interpreted as abstract or eerie, rather than overtly distressing’.
It concluded that the ad ‘was not likely to cause harm to children, cause undue distress or serious or widespread offence and was not irresponsible’.
However viewers have described it as ‘vile’, horrendous’, ‘blasphemy’ and ‘mocking God’, according to comments in the Christian Press. ‘I’ve never complained about an advert before but this is beyond the pale,’ said one.
Baptism, a profound symbol of death, burial, and the resurrection of Christ, is central to the Christian faith.
One comment on the advert says ‘I rebuke this in the name of Jesus Christ’ while another quotes Christian scripture and adds: ‘God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.’
Another described it as ‘disrespectful to Christians’ and added: ‘Do the same ad but mock other faiths, see how arty and funny it [is] then.’
The ad features religious language including fried chicken being ‘divinely dunked’ into gravy and ends with the words: ‘Believe in Chicken’
The two-minute advert depicts a man who is lost in the woods before he encounters a chicken and then follows a group of mysterious strangers carrying a giant, golden egg
An ASA spokesman said: ‘I can confirm that we’ve received nearly 1,000 complaints about KFC’s “All Hail Gravy” ad.
‘The nature of the complaints we’ve received are varied: some people have objected that it’s not suitable to be seen by children who might be scared or upset by it; others object that it’s distressing, offensive and harmful, as they consider it features scenes of human sacrifice and cannibalism, as well as cultism. Some also believe it mocks Christianity and the baptism.’
They added: ‘The complaints have been carefully assessed by ASA Council, the jury who decide whether the advertising rules have been broken.
‘ASA Council do not consider there are grounds for a formal investigation. We will continue to assess complaints that raise any new issues, but currently we do not plan to take further action.’
The two-minute advert depicts a man who is lost in the woods before he encounters a chicken and then follows a group of mysterious strangers carrying a giant, golden egg.
He is then led to a gravy lake where a woman immerses him in the gravy, an act that transforms him into a human-sized piece of fried chicken. The woman who baptised him then holds the chicken aloft as the crowd cheers.
The man in the ad is led to a gravy lake where a woman immerses him in the gravy, an act that transforms him into a human-sized piece of fried chicken
The woman who baptises the man then him then holds the chicken aloft as the crowd cheers
KFC has described the ad as a ‘modern-day fable’ and its chief marketing officer in the UK, Monica Silic, said that it was designed to ‘bring some lightness and levity to the chaotic world’.
The advertising agency behind the ad, Mother London, said it was aware that the ad might split opinions. ‘We are being polarizing, because we want conversation,’ Martin Rose, its creative director said when itwas released.
It is not the first time that KFC has divided opinion with its advertisements. A 2017 ad featuring a chicken dancing to rap music was the UKs most complained about ad, with the ASA receiving 755 complaints.
It is rare for the ASA to ban advertisements on the grounds that it offends Christians although it has happened in the past.
In 2008 the ASA banned a number of adverts by beauty brand Ghd which featured lingerie-clad ladies praying for perfect hair from ‘Ghd’ instead of God, with some of them even holding what appeared to be rosary beads.
